While the personal laws for all major religious communities are codified with equitable laws for marriage, divorce, adoption and succession, Muslim personal law in India is still determined by the medieval age 1400-year-old Sharia law which allows child marriage, polygamy, unilateral divorce with mere 3 months maintenance and very disproportionately low inheritance rights to Muslim women.
Article 44 of the Constitution of India provides a Uniform Civil Code for all Indian citizens governing the personal laws or civil laws pertaining to marriage, divorce, adoption and inheritance. A uniform law ensures same operation of law irrespective of the religion they follow. For example, puberty age is considered as legal age of marriage under the Sharia law. With children reaching puberty as young as 10 years of age, such medieval age practices of marrying off 10 year old child to adult men are practiced under Sharia law even today which is unacceptable child rights violation. Similarly, polygamy is illegal, banned and a crime for all religious communities like Hindus, including Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains, Parsis and Christians in India, while Muslim men are allowed to contract four marriages at a time which is gross violation of women’s rights and basic human rights.
The Question Hour Bharat video discusses why we need to reform civil laws and enactment of a Uniform Civil Code for all Indians. The video shows why Muslims oppose the enactment of the Uniform Civil Code as a violation of their religious rights although personal laws deal with civil rights like marriage, divorce, custody of children in divorce, maintenance, adoption rights etc.
The video emphasises that a UCC would reduce conflict among communities and there is uniform operation of law for all Indians. Do watch the entire video to know why the Islamist community is up in arms against any attempt to rationalise and enact a codified unified law governing personal civil matters like marriage, divorce, inheritance etc.
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